Shadow Slave

Shock. Confusion. Joy. Reprieve. Peace. Fear…

Sunny sat on a flimsy chair in the waiting area in front of an armored door, shell-shocked by what had happened. What was happening. Failing to envision what was going to happen.

His mind was thoroughly scrambled.

The waiting area was situated on a different level of the hospital complex. By now, the one devastated by the recent events was already put off. The fires were gone. Teams of the Academy staff were sifting through the wreckage, trying to determine the amount of damage done to the structure of the building and various equipment.

Those wounded by the explosion and the members of the security team were being hastily treated. It seemed that no lives were in danger… mostly because Sunny had gotten there in time.

What exactly had transpired?

He had a good idea.

Back when Sunny had Awakened, he had unconsciously activated his Aspect Ability before fully regaining his consciousness. As the result, he had come to his senses standing near the sleeping pod instead of inside of it.

Shadow Step was a teleportation Ability… what if he had gotten a direct damage Ability?

What if he had been a Tyrant, at that?

This was not an uncommon occurrence among the Awakened. Kai had gone through something similar, if Sunny remembered correctly. The same must have happened to Nephis.

It was just that her new Ability had turned out to be nothing short of devastating. As expected from the daughter of the Immortal Flame clan…

After spending a whole year on the Forgotten Shore and then two more wandering alone through the Dream Realm, she must have been extremely disoriented by the return to the waking world. Using her Aspect caused her to be in the throes of terrible pain, as well. Her Flaw was very cruel, after all.

Perhaps Neph could have regained her composure, but sadly, the automated battle systems of the hospital complex were not sophisticated enough to differentiate between an unknown Awakened and an active threat. Even the members of the security team had failed to make the distinction.

All they had perceived was that the guarded room where the heir of the Immortal Flame slept had been destroyed, and that a seemingly inhuman apparition stood among the fires.

In any case, the turret had unleashed a hail of bullets on Nephis, causing her muddled mind to switch into combat mode. After that, all she saw was a threat.

In combat, you had to kill the enemy and prevent the enemy from killing you.

Who knew how much damage she would have done if Sunny had not appeared on time?

'Lucky…'

But… how was she so powerful? Fourteen powerful Awakened had failed to even slow her down. Not even the cage he had created from shadows could withstand the heat of her flames.

Sunny scowled, then grimaced.

Cassie was sitting nearby, gripping his hand so hard that even Bone Weave was struggling with the pressure. Both of them were waiting for the doctors examining unconscious Nephis to deliver some news.

He patted the blind girl on the shoulder, then said awkwardly:

"Cas… my hand."

She turned to him with a confused expression, then flinched and let go.

"...Sorry."

They weren't alone in the waiting area. In fact, a small crowd of people was there with them — doctors, faculty members, a few disheveled government agents, Academy administrators… everyone was anticipating the news with baited breaths. Their faces were pale, shocked, and excited.

Morgan of Valor was there, too, leaning against the wall and typing something in her communicator, her expression calm and nonchalant. She seemed to have understood that their negotiations would have to be postponed.

What was the point of negotiating with Sunny and Cassie when everything had just changed? If Valor wanted to recruit the members of Changing Star's cohort and the Fire Keepers, they were going to have to speak with Changing Star herself… most likely.

Or they would continue their attempts to assassinate her. Provided that Valor had been the great clan responsible for sending Caster, of course.

Sunny closed his eyes for a moment.

'...Right. There's also that.'

The situation had already been incredibly murky and complicated, and with Neph's return, everything was turned upside down and made even more convoluted.

Chaos… it was pure chaos.

Everything was changing.

His own situation had also just turned much more dire, for obvious reasons.

...So why was he struggling to keep a sincere smile from appearing on his face?

Sunny had reasons to be shocked, and reasons to be tense. And he was. But most of all… he was happy.

Incredibly happy.

A sense of profound relief, contentment, and joy threatened to drown his ability to think clearly. He felt as though… as though something precious, something vital that he had lost was suddenly returned to him. Something that he had been missing.

And now that it was back, Sunny felt complete.

'What the hell is this nonsense? Since when am I that sentimental?'

Although he tried to cover his raw emotions with a veneer of cynicism, in truth, Sunny could pinpoint the exact moment when he had changed.

It was when he stepped into the circle of runes inside the Crimson Spire and escaped the Forgotten Shore, leaving Changing Star behind, to be devoured by darkness.

After that, nothing had been the same.

He gritted his teeth.

'Doesn't matter! Take a hold of yourself!"

Sunny had the right to be happy that Nephis had returned alive to them. She was his friend after all… much more than that, even. But that did not mean that he could allow himself to relax.

Just like her name suggested, Changing Star's return was bound to cause a massive shift. There were many dormant dangers that were going to awake now… more than that, there was a chance that she would become a danger to Sunny herself.

He had spent years both hoping for and dreading her return.

'First things first…'

He had to know how Nephis had managed to come back. There were no other Gateways in the Forgotten Shore… had she found one in the Hollow Mountains, or had she gone north, east, or west in search of a less deadly region of the Dream Realm?

Not that there would be… no one had ever returned from those parts, too, after all.

Now that Nephis had lost consciousness, she was bound to be sent back to the Dream Realm. Depending on how dangerous the area surrounding her anchor was, she might not be able to return soon.

Or at all… although Sunny doubted that the probability of that outcome was very high.

The runes shown by the Spell also named an Awakened's anchor. Since he could see both his own status and Neph's, all he had to do to find out was summon them.

Not wasting any more time, Sunny called upon the shimmering runes and concentrated on a certain string of them. A moment later, Neph's status appeared in the air in front of him.

Sunny started reading, but then froze.

His eyes widened.

'How… how is this possible?'

But there was no mistake...

The runes read:

Name: Nephis.

True Name: Changing Star.

Rank: …Ascended.